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POLITICAL COLUMN

President Obama’s inaugural message: Just do it!

'For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay,' Obama said. | Reuters

And showing some of the combativeness of his first inaugural address in which he rejected the political philosophies of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, Obama directly scorned the philosophy of Mitt Romney.

“We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few,” he said. “The commitments we make to each other — through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security — these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.”

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He spent little time on foreign policy, except to say that America would defend democracy across the globe. But there are limits. “We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war,” he said.

Then he swung back to America, delving into its past, praising the “pioneers” who had been at Seneca Falls [for women’s rights in 1848], at Selma [for civil rights in 1965], and at Stonewall [for gay rights in 1969].

“It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began,” he said and then talked about how America’s journey was not complete until there were equal rights for women, for “our gay brothers and sisters,” for “hopeful immigrants” and “until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote.”

In coded language calling for gun control but carefully avoiding that term, he added: “Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.”

He added with the same message that he had emphasized throughout his campaign: There are no guarantees, but at least we are all in this together.

“With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication,” he said, “let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.”